Art: Beverly Erschell at Architecture Foundation

Beverly Erschell’s paintings of Cincinnati, currently enlivening the Architectural Foundation’s new downtown quarters at 811 Race St. (in the old ArtWorks space), catch the city in Jazz riffs of color and form.

Erschell, based in Kentucky, usually sees downtown from across the river and that’s the way she often paints it. She leaves the river to catch views of Covington and further Cincinnati scenes, among them the gazebo in Eden Park, Cincinnati Union Terminal and, in a swooping watercolor, she shows Hyde Park Square from a high viewpoint.

The exhibition includes oils, watercolors, prints and a few drawings, the latter displaying the firm framework underlying these exuberant works. They share a warmth of color and sense of excitement in the built environment. In a flight of fancy rooftops sprout gardens (“Being Green in Cincinnati”); she also records the civic whimsy that made a castle watchtower out of “ Waterworks Intake on the Ohio.”

The exhibition is on view through Dec.16, open noon-3 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Nov. 6, 13 and Dec. 4 or by appointment (513-421-4469). An exhibition of Thomas Schiff’s panoramic photographs of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings will also be on view at Architectural Foundation beginning Nov. 6. The two artists will present demonstrations of their work beginning at noon Nov. 30.